Research Areas

I am interested in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory disorders such as celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease. I investigate dietary-bacterial interactions and how this impacts the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disease, with the view to develop novel therapeutic strategies for these disorders.

Focus

The main focus of research is to study host-microbial and dietary interactions and their role in the pathophysiology of chronic gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases. Work in my lab deals with the way commensal bacteria and food components interact with host tissues to enhance or prevent susceptibility to inflammation. We use a variety of molecular, mouse humanized models and clinical translational approaches to determine whether and how gluten-induced immunopathology is modulated by the small intestinal microbiota. Another important research interest investigates the role of the intestinal microbiota in the induction of mucosal barrier dysfunction and immune responses in the host that are of relevance in inflammatory bowel disease development. As director of the Axenic Gnotobiotic Facility at McMaster, we rederive transgenic mouse strains of interest to perform gnotobiotic colonizations using clinical isolates. The long term goal is to identify novel therapeutic targets to treat celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease.